Billionaire Love Affair

Chapter 6- Amelia

“Well, look at that, get your ass up, we gotta go shopping!” She said, standing up from the couch, downing the last bit of wine in her glass. I did the same thing and finished my wine before walking to the kitchen to put the glasses in the sink. “We should take a cab. I don’t feel like driving ourselves,” Arielle whined. I didn’t either, in all honesty.

“Plus, we had a glass of wine, and you know how I am. I’d rather not drive while I'm drinking,” I added. Arielle nodded her head, knowing drinking and driving is one of my pet peeves. She pulled her phone from her purse and requested a taxi.

We talked while we waited for the taxi in the lobby of my building. We heard a honk outside, signaling that the cab had arrived. We walked over to the car, got in, and told the driver where we wanted to go.

Twenty minutes later, we arrived at the mall. The taxi driver dropped us off in front of the building. Arielle got out of the car while I paid the driver. I stepped out of the taxi. Arielle linked her arm through mine. She dragged me to the first store she saw, which was Windsor.

“What are we shopping for again?” I asked, browsing through the clothes on the rack. She turned to look at me with the smile I knew all too well. “I don’t want to go clubbing. I want to sit at home with my two favorite guys. Ben & Jerry’s,” I whined, knowing I would not get my way.

She said nothing and kept looking through the rows and rows of clothes. I found a cute black skater skirt. Now I needed the perfect top to go with it. I walked over to Arielle, seeing she had a pile of clothes on her arm. I held up the skirt as I got closer to her, asking if she liked it. She nodded her head; she held up a two-piece red sequined crop top and matching skirt.

“That’s perfect for you,” I said, smiling. “Now, let’s find you a top to go with that skirt,” Arielle said, walking down a different aisle.

We kept looking before I spotted a red cross-back crop top. “Arielle, who is all going to the club with us?” I said, putting the shirt in my pile. She looked at the shirt on top, and her smile grew wide. “That outfit is going to get you laid this weekend,” she replied. I groaned, knowing that she was going to make it her life’s mission.

“Sarah and Avery, from work, will be there. You’ll love them.” She added, walking to the counter to pay for her items. I followed behind her and waited in line to pay for our clothes, but Arielle had other plans. She took my pile and added it to her own.

“I can pay for that, you know,” I said, trying to take my pile back from her. “Oh, I know you can, but I also know you will return them to get out of going this weekend,” she remarked. Damn, she knows me too well. I stuck my tongue out at her, and she shook her head, laughing.

We left the store, bags in hand, and walked to the food court. We didn’t have to say anything about getting food. We know what the other is thinking. We Sbarro pizza and sat at a table eating and making small talk.

We finished our pizza and threw our trash away. We walked a little longer around the mall before heading back to my place. When we arrived at my penthouse, we placed all the bags in my room.

We walked to the kitchen, and Arielle grabbed the wine bottle we had opened from the fridge. She then grabbed two glasses and poured herself one and the poured, then the other, and handed it to me.

We grabbed our wine and walked into the living room, sitting on the couch. Arielle grabbed the remote before I could get it. She searched through Netflix but settled on a random movie for us to watch. Arielle grabbed my wine from me and set it down on the coffee table next to hers. She turned her body to me and gave me one of those looks that says you better spill and give me details.

I turned to her, tucking my feet underneath me, and reached for my wineglass. Grabbing it, I sat back against the couch. I released a deep sigh, thinking back to this morning and the gorgeous man. I shook my head, trying to gain back my focus so I could tell her the story of this morning.

“I was talking to Big Dave while walking out of the door. I turned around way too fast as I pushed the door open and stepped out. I ran right into this gorgeous, and I do mean gorgeous man, and spilled my coffee all over him.” I smiled, remembering back that Adonis of a man.

She cleared her throat to tell me that there was more to the story. I groaned out loud. “Fine, I embarrassed myself. I grabbed napkins out of my purse and tried to clean the crisp white shirt. I didn’t catch the man’s name, but he stopped me, thank god. I was a blubbering mess of words.” I said, looking down, playing with my fingers.

She looked like she was constipated, holding in the laugh that she was trying not to let out. “Go on, laugh at me. I would laugh at myself too,” I said with a chuckle. She laughed so hard she fell off the couch. I had grabbed her wine before she fell on the floor. I set it back on the coffee table and took a big sip of mine.

“That’s not all,” I said, bringing my glass to my lips to keep myself busy. Arielle sat back on the couch so fast it startled me, and I almost dropped my glass on the carpet. “So…” she said, realizing I was stalling to get my head right.

“I ran to my car when he turned away to answer his phone,” I said, chugging the rest of my wine and walking to the kitchen to grab the bottle. I walked back into the living room with the wine bottle, took a seat on the couch, and refilled my glass.

“You ran away… Like ran away, ran away?” She said, holding her stomach, still laughing hard. I couldn’t answer her, so I nodded my head. “You are good. You know that” she said, calming down after a while. “You would have run away as well if you had seen him,” I remarked.

I could see the enormous smile that graced her lips by looking at her. Now I know that’s a lie. Arielle is the most confident person I know, not afraid to hide who she is. My go-getter of a best friend.

“Tomorrow, I want to stop by dad’s grave. Do you want to go with me?” I asked her, breaking the comfortable silence that surrounded us.

She pulled me into a hug and wrapped her arms around me, rubbing my back as a mother would. This girl would make the best mother if she ever got a man and settled down. I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her tight. I felt her nod her head about coming with me to see my dad.

I was trying my hardest not to cry, but I could feel the tears swelling up in my eyes. Arielle pulled back from our hug, releasing me, and wiped a tear that had escaped my eyes. Once she did that, the dam broke loose, and I couldn’t stop the tears that were pouring down my face. “It’s okay, let it out. I miss him too,” she said, wiping the tears from her own eyes.

I know this was hitting her hard too. Arielle was like my adoptive sister. Dad’s second daughter. He always treated us the same. He gave us the same amount of love and support. He never favorited me over her or vice versa. He loved her like his very own, and she loved him the same.

They had a bond as I did with him. I wasn’t jealous of it because I knew it made my dad love me no matter what. I was happy when she came around or came on vacation because dad would spoil us when we were with him.

Arielle lost her dad at an early age. It is what made us closer. She was my dad’s other kid like I was her mom’s second kid. I know if I told her my plans for revenge, she would be on board, but I will not tell her yet. Not until I have more evidence. We called it a night, but because neither of us wanted to be alone, we got into my bed and laid down under the covers.

“I’ll go with you to see dad. Let’s go in the morning, and then we can grab brunch and then get our nails done. How does that sound?” She said, turning on her side to look at me. I turned, so we were facing each other. “I am very thankful to have a best friend like you in my life. I wouldn't be here without you in my life.” I said, with a sad smile on my face.

“That’s what best friends are for, to stand by each other’s sides through everything. I’ll always have your back.” She replied, returning the same sad smile.

I grabbed her hand, squeezing it. She squeezed me in return, “Goodnight, Amelia.” She said, rolling to the other side. “Goodnight, Arielle,” I said, doing the same. I couldn’t fall asleep right away. I lay there staring at the wall, willing myself to fall asleep. It didn’t work very well. I got out of bed as quietly as I could not disturb Arielle.

I walked to the kitchen to grab a bottle of water and went to the balcony; not that chilly to where I’d need a jacket. I stood out there looking over the city, thinking about my dad and the hot guy from this morning. I couldn’t seem to get him out of my head today. How could I become so unfocused by a mere man who I only met for a split second?

I couldn’t concentrate on work, and that’s not like me. I need to get the man from the cafe out of my mind. I hope tomorrow I’ll be able to have a more peaceful, productive day and not see his handsome face when I close my eyes. I stayed out on the balcony for an hour longer, feeling the wind in my hair and on my face.

It was relaxing and helped me clear my mind. I thought about telling Arielle the plan, but I didn’t know how to start telling her. I’m looking for dad’s killer. Do I tell her I want to not only look for him, but I want to kill dad’s murderer? I don’t know how she will react to me wanting to kill him. I know no matter what happens, she will support me in my decision well. At least I hope she will.

I can’t have her talk me out of this. It was my dad that got killed, not hers. I needed to get revenge for my dad and his justice. He deserved that, at least. Whoever killed dad is lucky they have escaped the police. They went right into hiding like scary baby bitches, but their time was coming. I can promise that.

A yawn passed through my lips, so I took it as a sign to get back inside and to bed and try to get some rest. I quietly walked back into my room, not to wake Arielle. She can be a grumpy asshole when woken up. I crawled back into my bed and laid on my pillow. I stared at the ceiling. I felt my eyelids getting heavy, struggling to keep them open because I didn’t want to fall asleep yet. That didn’t seem to work because, like that, I was fast asleep.